TomTom's ad for a GPS cardio monitor for runners, featuring model Alexandria Morgan as she runs down the beach in a strapless bra, was banned from TV airing for provocative content. In the week since its online debut, the campaign has garnered more than 3.9 million views, 700 tweets, and 12,600 Facebook interactions.

Many marketers are starting to realize the potential of advertising via smart or connected televisions (Internet-enabled), but according to eMarketer, 60% of media buyers still don't know how to purchase video ads for a smart TV or a TV connected to a streaming device, like a Roku.

The devices are taking over. In three years, the number of connected TVs will double. By 2017, consumers will have brought home 204 million connected TV devices, more than double the number of projected U.S. Internet homes, according to NPD Connected Intelligence. Connected TV devices include video game consoles, streaming media players, Blu-ray devices and TVs.

There's no question that video is booming, with more videos, creators, platforms and distribution channels than ever. For marketers, this has created a palpable sense of excitement and even a little bit of angst: so much to consider and so little time and budget! During times like these, it can be valuable to take a quick step back and assess some common myths before charging all-out in one direction or another:

Dtac, a Thai mobile phone company, saw its "Power of Love" video go viral this past month. The video debuted on June 30, and has so far garnered 13.2 million views, 1,300 comments, 3,600 tweets and 342,000 Facebook interactions. It is the latest example of Thai-branded video campaigns that have excelled in the North American market.

The battle for consumer attention isn't getting easier. TV is still as popular as ever, but rather than tuning out commercials to grab a snack or run to the restroom, viewers are craning their necks downward - at another screen - and often do so while watching the show on the set. About 48% of prime-time TV viewers are double-timing the tube with other screens, whether using social media, checking email or shopping online, according to a study of 55,000 Internet users worldwide conducted by global research firm TNS. This growing habit of "screen stacking" dovetails with the proliferation of ...

MediaPost's Wayne Friedman quantifies the early shifting of budgets to online video in his recent article on this year's decline in cable as well as broadcast upfront ad spending. Online video accounts for approximately 7% of the total T/V nut ($5 billion of $70 billion total) and is poised for multiple-digit annual growth. So if television dollars are moving to Internet distribution and portable platforms, how will brand safety be maintained while ads potentially land everywhere and anywhere a viewer can find content?

Now that we've covered the different kind of video metrics that are often overlooked -- from the content of the videos themselves, to the size of the players, to the presence of other videos on the page -- we can finally discuss how to implement analytics so they can be put to real use.

Last year, Netflix made history by being the first online-only content producer ever to be nominated for (and inevitably win) an Emmy award. The trend continued for the provider's original streaming content, with a Golden Globe win for Robin Wright's "House of Cards" performance, and a Best Documentary Feature Oscar nomination for "The Square." This was big news for Netflix, and even bigger news for showcasing a major shift in how entertainment is consumed.

As advertising budgets shift from TV to online, there has been a lot of excitement about what digital video can accomplish. With tools that enable powerful programmatic and personalized solutions, digital video advertising is generating high engagement, awareness and bottom-line results for brands. Seeing the power of this new generation of advertising is impressive. But many advertisers aren't truly seeing the results they could, and it's not because customers aren't seeing ads and making purchases. It's simpler than that. They literally aren't "seeing" results in digital video because the measurements they're using weren't designed to show the new data points ...